Pardon my Danish? Pardon my Latvian?

Excuse my French, but why the f*** do people say "excuse my French" when they swear?

-- DLJ, the net

Everything naughty is French, yes? Well, the British think everything naughty is French. French kissing, a French letter (condom), French leave (AWOL), French pox (syphilis), all kinds of French phrases for things the British do but blame on the French. England originated the phrase "pardon my French" to excuse their profanity by saying, essentially, only the French would use the word I'm about to use, so don't blame me, blame the French. The British used to like to pick on the Dutch (Dutch treat, Dutch uncle, etc.), but the French are more colorful and apparently make easier targets.